Identification and characterization of transcripts differentially expressed during apricot fruit ripening

In this work we report preliminary results of a project aimed at the identification and cloning of genes differentially expressed during the ongoing of ripening in the apricot fruit. The application of the cDNA-AFLP technique to transcript profiling is reported as well as the cloning of 125 fragments representing genes showing differential expression levels. Among them, a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase (XET) gene was isolated and partially characterized.